by Laura DeLuca
Rebecca hoped he was right, but even after she was home alone under the covers, she couldn’t help but remember that Justyn’s voice didn’t sound very hopeful. Instead of the sleep she longed for, Rebecca found herself sobbing into her pillow. In her heart she knew that while Justyn would never let a tear sneak free in front of the cops who guarded him, her true love was weeping with her in the depths of his soul.
Chapter Thirteen
“Rebecca! Rebecca, get up!”
Rebecca woke from a deep if not pleasant sleep and jerked forward in her bed when she heard the insistent pounding at her bedroom door. She blinked a few times and tried to clear her sleep-hazed mind. Visions of needles still spun in her head—some were filled with heroin while others held Dr. Jekyll’s crimson-red formula. The faces of her cast mates in their multiple roles converged on her. Each one had something to hide in the play, and it seemed at least one of them had some sinister secret in real life as well. Worst of all was watching both of Justyn’s characters come to life, standing beside one another. The evil face of Hyde leered down at Jekyll, one of the needles in his hand, prepared to strike. Her heart was pounding when she finally sat up. She didn’t have much time to get her thoughts together before the hammering at the door continued with even more conviction.
“Rebecca Elizabeth Hope, open this door right now!”
It was her father. Rebecca hadn’t heard him call her by her full name or use that authoritative tone of voice since she was a child. She had no idea what had instigated it and honestly didn’t care. She moaned as she pulled herself up from the bed. A quick peek at the alarm clock told her it was two in the afternoon. She couldn’t believe she had slept so late. It was a good thing it was her day off at the breakfast restaurant or she might have lost her job. She yawned loudly and wondered why her father was home so early on a Monday afternoon and what made him sound so infuriated.
“Rebecca,” her father called again, obviously growing impatient, “I’m waiting!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” She snorted as she pulled on her short-sleeved silk bathrobe. “Give me a second, would you? I have to put some clothes on. Geez.”
Rebecca could hear her father grunting in exasperation outside the door, and it was the last thing she wanted to deal with, especially after all she had been through in the last twenty-four hours. She was already a hot mess because of Justyn’s arrest, not to mention her own big secret. She knew she probably looked as disheveled as she felt when she finally opened the door to greet the unhappy beet-red face of her father.
“Rebecca, we need to talk!”
“Can’t this wait until after I take a shower?” Rebecca complained, rubbing her sleep-encrusted eyes. “I’m not even awa—”
“No!” Mr. Hope interrupted. “This can’t wait, Rebecca. Not for one more second.”
Rebecca sighed and tried not to roll her eyes like a rebellious teenager. What she really wanted was to get to her cell phone so she could call Justyn and find out if his preliminary hearing had been scheduled yet. Maybe the whole nightmare was already over and Justyn was safe at home. Maybe the fancy suit Darlene hired had already fixed everything. Of course she knew that was wishful thinking. If Justyn were home, he would have called her first thing.
“Rebecca, are you even listening to me?”
“What?” Rebecca hadn’t realized Mr. Hope was still talking, but his eyes were starting to bulge, and she knew he was losing the meager amount of patience he possessed. “I’m sorry, Dad. But like I said, I’m not really awake. What were you saying?”
“It’s no wonder you’re acting like a zombie after spending the whole night in a police station!”
Rebecca felt her mouth drop. “What? How did you—”
“Carmen’s father called me.” Rebecca was taken aback by the harshness in his voice. She actually flinched and took a step back. “And thank God he did, because you obviously had no intentions of coming clean.”
“Coming clean about what?”
“About your drug-dealing boyfriend!” Mr. Hope spat.
“What? Now, wait a minute, Dad. You have no idea what happened last night. You’re completely jumping to conclusions.”
“I know enough, Rebecca! I know that delinquent boyfriend of yours finally showed his true colors. I always knew something like this would happen, but drugs! Yes, I know all about the heroin the cops found in his car. Mr. Weber told me everything! Good Lord, when I think what might have happened if he had talked you into trying that poison…”
Her father actually paused and openly studied her arms as though he were checking for track marks. Rebecca huffed, beginning to feel a little angry herself. “I would never be stupid enough to mess around with that stuff. You have no reason to be so angry. Nothing happened to me, and I’m not the person you should be worried about right now. Justyn is the one who’s in trouble, but he’s innocent! He would never—”
“I can’t believe you’re still defending him!” Any retorts Rebecca might have made died on her lips when her father grabbed her shoulders and pushed her up against the wall. He didn’t hurt her, but he had never put his hands on her so roughly. It frightened her to see him so angry. Stunned to silence, she allowed him to continue his tirade. “What will it take, Rebecca? It’s been one trauma after another from the moment that boy entered our lives. Seeing him getting arrested wasn’t enough to open your eyes? Well, this is the last straw! Do you hear me? You’re ending things with him, once and for all!”
Rebecca yanked her arm away and squirmed out from under her father’s grasp. She swallowed back the childish fear his raging invoked and faced his furious glance with one of her own. “Excuse me, but I’m not sixteen anymore, Dad. You can’t tell me what to do. I’m an adult and I make my own decisions.”
“If you’re an adult, you better start acting like one!” Mr. Hope declared. “This isn’t one of your musicals, Rebecca! There isn’t going to be a happy ending for you if you keep letting this boy steer you in the wrong direction.”
Rebecca almost wanted to argue that he was bringing to life a scene from Hyde at that very moment. His rampant allegations sounded exactly like Emma’s father when he wanted her to leave behind her fiancé in his time of need. Well, Emma never abandoned Henry Jekyll, and Rebecca wasn’t about to let Justyn down either, no matter what the future held.
“Justyn is the only direction for me,” Rebecca swore. “I’m not going to dessert him now when he needs me the most. Not for anything!” She lowered her eyes as well as her voice. “Not even for you.”
“No.” Mr. Hope shook his head. “I refuse to let you throw your life away.”
“Key word there, Dad! My life. Not yours.”
He ignored her and continued as though she hadn’t spoken, “The wedding is off, and you will not bring that boy back into this house. He isn’t welcome here.”
Rebecca pursed her lips together. She wanted to cry. She wanted to rant and rave right back at her father until he saw things her way, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Mr. Hope was beyond seeing reason. In fact, he had probably been hoping something like this would happen for years, just so he had a good excuse to hate Justyn. So instead of continuing an argument that was going nowhere fast, Rebecca stepped back into her bedroom, slammed the door shut in her father’s surprised face, and locked it behind her.
Rebecca wiped away the few tears that managed to sneak free in disgust as she pulled a small suitcase out of her closet. She threw a few pairs of shorts and shirts into the carry bag before changing into a set of clean clothes. She really wanted to take a shower. She’d been so exhausted when she got home she hadn’t even bothered to wash off the caked-on theater makeup, and it was smeared all over her face. However, she knew that wasn’t going to be a possibility when her father lingered in the hallway. She had to get out of there as quickly as possible. If he wanted to give her ultimatums, he was going to pay the price.
Once her bag was stuffed to capacity, she zipped it up and gra
bbed her handbag from her desk chair. At the last minute, she snatched up the crystal geode Justyn had given her when they first met and tossed it into her bag as well. She’d carried it through all the tough times the last few years. The rough texture of the stone against her hand instantly made her feel a little more resilient, and gave her the strength she needed to open the door and face her father one last time.
Mr. Hope was still standing in the hallway. When he saw her packed bags, he studied her with a dumbfounded expression. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” She shoved her way past him when he tried to block the door. “I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?” he demanded. “To him? To that convict? I absolutely forbid you to—”
“No, Dad,” Rebecca interrupted him, furious. “I forbid you! I forbid you from ripping Justyn to pieces when you don’t know all the facts. I forbid you from saying one more negative word about the man I love! I forbid you from trying to run my life. I absolutely forbid it.”
Rebecca’s father stood, stammering and speechless, for a moment. She had never spoken to him like that before. She wasn’t quite sure if he was going to scream back at her or burst into tears. When he didn’t say anything at all, she huffed, pulled her bag over her shoulder, and darted down the stairs. Eventually her father’s shock wore off. He called to her as she was pulling open the front door. Out of years of habit and respect, she grudgingly turned and acknowledged him, but she kept her lips set in a tight, determined frown.
“I’ve had enough of this nonsense, Rebecca. If you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back.”
She paused for a second, feeling a part of her heart cave in. She loved her father and hated the thought of disrespecting his wishes. The possibility of not having him in her life shattered her heart into a million tiny pieces. But he was wrong, and she refused to let him coerce her into walking away from everything that mattered to her. When she faced him again, she refused to cry. She put her best actress face forward and met his angry gaze with an unflinching, cold stare.
“That’s fine, Dad. You don’t have to see me or Justyn ever again. Of course, that also means you won’t get to see your grandchild.”
Her father’s face turned chalk-white, and finally, he was silent. Rebecca didn’t wait for a reply anyway. She slammed the front door behind her, wondering if that would be the last memory she had of the man who raised her.
Chapter Fourteen
Rebecca only managed to keep her cool until she got to the car. As soon as she drove away, she sobbed so hard she had to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road where she would have thrown up if she had actually managed to eat anything that morning. After she dry heaved for five minutes, she climbed back into her sedan and pounded the steering wheel until her fists hurt. She didn’t care if it was childish. She felt like an orphan—like she had lost her home and her family. She knew Darlene would take her in without hesitation, but that didn’t stop the ache in her heart. She adored her father. She had spent most of her life being the stereotypical daddy’s girl. She hated being at odds with him. But Justyn was her future, and she wasn’t going to let anyone or anything stand in the way of the life they had worked so hard for.
When Rebecca finally arrived at Justyn’s house, there were no cars parked in the driveway. Of course, Justyn’s Mustang had been seized by the police as evidence, so she hadn’t expected to see it there. Darlene was probably at work or maybe even at the courthouse. She had tried more than once to call them in the hopes Justyn had already been released, but each time she was sent directly to voicemail. Wherever they were, they either didn’t have service, had turned off their phones, or in Justyn’s case, the phone was still confiscated. She thought about driving to Cape May, but when she tried to call the police station to see if Justyn was still there, she got the answering service of Officer Weston. She didn’t bother leaving a message. She knew he wouldn’t call back.
Rebecca didn’t have anywhere else to go, but luckily Darlene had provided her with a key to the house in case of emergencies. She grabbed her bags and walked up the driveway, but when she went to turn the handle, she found she didn’t need her key. The door was already unlocked. Feeling a little nervous she might find Matt walking around naked in the kitchen, Rebecca gave a tentative knock before cracking open the door.
“Hello?” Her voice was hoarse from crying, so she cleared her throat before calling out a little louder, “Darlene? Justyn? Is anyone in there?”
There was no response. She figured someone would have answered her calls if they were home, but it was still odd for them to go out without locking the door. Rebecca stepped inside and saw the kitchen was empty, but she heard a strange humming noise originating from deeper inside the house. Curious, she followed the sound into the living room. There she discovered Sherry sitting cross-legged on the carpet in the center of the room, looking surprisingly limber for her years. She was sitting within the confines of a circle of crystals, her long red hair flowing freely down the back of her turquoise kimono. Incense sticks burned on the end tables, and a few candles flickered in front of her. However, Sherry couldn’t see their glow because her eyes were closed in concentration and her palms were face up on her lap as she took in a deep breath.
“Ohmmm,” she chanted as she released the inhalation. “Ohmmmm.”
Rebecca backed away slowly. She knew better than to interrupt someone in the zone. She had almost forgotten Justyn’s grandparents were staying at the house. Their trailer wasn’t parked out front, but perhaps Bruce had gone off to run errands or to try to help with Justyn’s case. In any event, Rebecca wandered back into the kitchen and hoped Darlene wouldn’t mind if she helped herself to a bowl of cereal. She really wasn’t hungry, but she knew she needed to start eating better for the baby. She should also visit a doctor and start a regimen of prenatal vitamins. But first, she needed to get the father of her child out of jail. Rebecca wasn’t going to be able to handle the pain of labor or even the poking and prodding that came beforehand without Justyn by her side.
Rebecca tried to chew her frosted flakes, but she had a hard time swallowing the cereal. The thought of having to deliver her baby alone made her choke back a sob. She dropped her spoon after taking only a few mouthfuls. It clattered against the glass, and milk splashed her skin. It wasn’t until she went to wipe it away she realized it wasn’t only milk that dampened her cheeks. They were also wet with tears.
“What’s all this?” a soft voice sounded. “There’s no reason for all these waterworks.”
Suddenly a tissue was thrust into her hand, and Rebecca glanced up into the warm, caring eyes of Justyn’s grandmother. Without another word, she wrapped Rebecca in a motherly embrace. It was the first real shelter she’d felt since she had taken the home pregnancy test, and she finally released all the pent-up emotions she’d been holding back. Even though they had only met a handful of times, Rebecca sobbed against the older woman’s shoulder, comforted by the familiar scent of essential oils and sage that clung to her clothing. As she wept, Sherry cooed and gently patted her back.
“Oh, Sherry,” Rebecca sobbed, “this is all so terrible. I don’t know how to deal with Justyn getting arrested, especially now with the ba—”
Rebecca cut herself off before she finished the sentence. She tried to cover it up with a loud sniff and a hiccup, but Sherry was too perceptive not to catch on. She gently tilted Rebecca’s head up, forcing her to meet her stern but loving gaze.
“Did you say baby? Rebecca are you … are you pregnant?”
Rebecca could only nod and then burst into a fresh round of tears. She expected Sherry to be angry—to lecture her on the virtues of safe sex or tell her she was too young to be a mother. That’s what her parents would have done. Instead, Sherry broke into a wide smile and pulled Rebecca into an almost-smothering bear hug.
“I never thought I’d live long enough to be a great-grandmother, let alone still have t
he energy to enjoy it,” she exclaimed. “This is wonderful news! I think a new baby is exactly what our family needs. This is a sign that things are happening exactly as they were meant to.”
Sherry was beyond enthusiastic. She was already looking Rebecca over, trying to guess if she was going to have a girl or a boy, and talking about coming back up to Jersey in time for the birth. It felt good to talk to someone about it besides Carmen, but Rebecca still had to wonder why Sherry was so happy. Only someone related to Justyn would be doing a happy dance over a baby conceived out of wedlock by a college student, but at least Rebecca knew her child would be loved.
“I wish I could be certain Justyn will see things that way.” Rebecca sighed. “I’m afraid a baby is going to be just one more thing to stress him out. It might even send him right over the edge.”
Sherry smiled wisely. “A child changes everything for the better, Rebecca. You’ll see what I mean. Both you and Justyn will find strength you never knew you had. It might take a bit for him to get used to the idea—he is a man, after all. But once it hits him, this baby will give my grandson the motivation he needs to stop sulking and start fighting.”
“What?” Rebecca snapped to attention. “Why would Justyn be sulking? What happened?”
Sherry’s smile vanished for the first time. “You’ll find out soon enough—he’s on his way home with Darlene right now, so I might as well prepare you.” She paused for a second, probably unsure of how Rebecca was going to react to what was evidently bad news. “The preliminary hearing didn’t go as well as we’d hoped. It seems the judge wanted to make an example of Justyn.”
“Wh-what does that mean, Sherry?” Rebecca pleaded. “What’s going to happen to him?”
Sherry looked frustrated, and that made Rebecca even more nervous. She waited impatiently for her to continue. “Darlene was able to get a loan to post bail, so he’s free for now. In a few weeks, his case will be heard in court. First to the grand jury and if they decide the prosecution made a good argument, the case could go to trial. Hopefully, it won’t get that far, but if it does—”